A no-deal Brexit will cause job losses and severe long-term damage to UK industry - it must be avoided

Published: 7 January 2019 - Victoria White

The EURIS Taskforce, a body of trade organisations representing UK manufacturing worth £148 billion in turnover, has today written to the Prime Minister for the second time to reinforce that no-deal should not be an option in the Brexit debate.

A no-deal Brexit would cause severe damage to UK manufacturing and risks huge job losses as the impact on trade will be too hard to bear for many companies.

In today’s letter, the EURIS Chair, Dr Howard Porter, refers the Prime Minister to the recent EURIS report ‘Securing a competitive UK manufacturing industry post Brexit’, which clearly outlines why it is so important Government avoids a no-deal outcome. EURIS analysis, carried out for the report, shows that a no-deal scenario, placing the UK at the bottom of all global trading leagues under default WTO rules, would be a disaster for the industrial product supply sector.

EURIS, which represents sectors with 1.1 million employees, first wrote to the Prime Minister in July 2018 to stress the dangers of a no-deal Brexit in a letter co-signed by over 200 companies including the CEO’s of some of Britain’s biggest engineering employers as well as those of some of its most innovative smaller companies. EURIS is reiterating industry’s concerns about the dangers of a no-deal Brexit today.

Individual EURIS members are also writing to their constituency MPs today to elevate concerns about a no-deal Brexit.

Dr Howard Porter, EURIS Chair said: “A no-deal Brexit will result in significant long-term damage to the UK manufacturing sector and will put at risk the industrial product supply sector’s £148 billion contribution to the UK economy. Of particular concern are the potential costs of regulatory compliance and administration placed on exporters and importers in the UK under a no-deal, which many believe will be too hard to bear for some companies. EURIS is calling on the Prime Minister to support UK industry and secure the future of our contribution to the UK economy by avoiding a no-deal Brexit.”